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A Visit to St. Nicholas

On Sunday we took Anna to visit Santa at our local mall. Watching her chat with him and read her list reminded me of an earlier visit. It was Christmas 2008. She had been diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech about a month earlier and hadn’t begun therapy yet. It was a challenge, but both she and Santa were up to the challenge. Here’s how I described the visit in Chapter 35 of A Smile for Anna.

After Anna’s playtime, we walked past the movie theater to Centre Court, home of “Santa’s Workshop.” A snow covered cottage, surrounded by Christmas trees, stood halfway between a candy shop and a cell-phone store. Inside, Santa sat with his cadre of elves, greeting each child in turn.

We’d taken Anna to meet Santa last year, and she cried the whole time. Now she was a year older, and she was ready.

“So when it’s your turn, don’t forget to tell Santa what you want for Christmas,” I said.

Anna nodded but didn’t look up. She was in the zone and didn’t want to break focus.

More puzzlement. I could tell he was trying, and no matter how little he understood, he never let it show to Anna. He glanced over to us for cues.

“Trains,” I said.

Santa smiled again. “So you like both dolls and trains. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. Des mama, dada, en me.”

The chapter closes on Christmas morning.

… she awoke to find that Santa had brought everything she asked for. A baby doll that giggled, cooed, and cried when she was hungry, an extension for her train set with a fire truck, fire station, and roadway to go through her train tunnel, and, best of all, an Elmo Live doll that sang, danced, and told stories. He also fell over if he missed his chair when sitting down.

That one day, we will all hold hands and D A N C E in heaven, like birds on trees, being moved by the warm magnolia breeze, like purple annuals and yellow perennials growing in the same garden of love.